The Taming of the Shrew

By William Shakespeare

Directed by Kelley Duhatschek

Rebel Alliance Theatre

Presents William Shakespeare’s THE TAMING OF THE SHREW
Followed by refreshments and discussion with the actors about ideas in the play

Thursday Friday Saturday
February 18, 19, and 20 and 25, 26 and 27 2010
at the Omro Wedding Chapel 205 Adams
7:00PM-10:30PM

Tickets: $8 or $15 dollars, you choose.
Seating in our unique, intimate space is LIMITED to 42. Reservations strongly advised.

Educational Discount Tickets for Students in School Groups of Ten or more: $6.00.
Reservations and pre-payment REQUIRED for Educational Groups.
To obtain an educational groups reservation form, contact jen@rebelalliancetheatre.org or visit www.rebelalliancetheatre.org

To reserve seats or request more information, please contact the Box Office at 426-8580 and ask for Jen.

About the Company: Rebel Alliance Theatre, located in Omro (just ten minutes from Oshkosh) is a non-profit, volunteer-based, educational community theatre that has been serving the Fox Valley for over 15 years. We have a resident company of trained theatre artists and produce six full-length productions every year. We also welcome emerging artists and community members to participate in our programming and offer numerous opportunities for theatre arts education from on-going acting and design workshops to participation in our productions. We never charge production participants a fee to be part of our shows, and for this production our Company Cast is joined by students from Omro High, Oshkosh West, and UW-Oshkosh.

About the Play: The Taming of the Shrew is one of Shakespeare’s early plays and in writing it he depends heavily on inherited traditions from Italian Comedia Dell-Arte. The play offers a glimpse of Shakespeare as a developing playwright, stretching his creative muscles, experimenting with character and text, and testing boundaries imposed by societal expectations both for people and his craft. Underneath the seemingly simple, hilarious surface plot are dangerous discussions and exploration of societal issues both particular to Shakespeare’s time and relevant in our own. The Rebel Alliance experience of this play has been crafted specifically to allow the discussion of these difficult and dangerous ideas to provide a bridge between Shakespeare’s time and our own and bring the Bard to life for millennial audiences. The play is directed by Rebel Alliance Theatre’s Artistic and Education Director, Kelley Duhatschek who holds a BA in Theatre Arts and a Master’s in English from UW-Oshkosh where she teaches Composition and Introduction to Shakespeare.

The Plot: Signor Baptista has two daughters he wishes to see well-married. The mild, beautiful, and obedient Bianca is loved by many but her hot- tempered, “shrewish, ill-favored” older sister Katherine is despised by all. Baptista will not allow Bianca to marry until her older sister has a husband, so Bianca’s many suitors devise a plan to find one who then spends most of Act Four “taming” Katherine’s wild spirit.

Some Ideas Shakespeare wants to discuss and explore: When we are loved, are we loved for and as our “self” or only as we are perceived by others? When we love others, do we love the people as they truly are, or as we wish them to be?
What happens when those ideas about ones “self” conflict? Who are we, really? Are we ourselves only in relationship to other people? Is the “idea” of a person more true and real than that individual’s concept of “true” self? Other Issues that might enter into the conversation include Gender Equity and Expectations, Relationships, Family and Friendship, Social and Economic Class Disparity, Truth, Perception and “Reality,” “Creation” of “Identity.”

Rebel Alliance Theatre’s continuing mission is to reveal and recognize the arts as an essential dimension of a thriving and sustainable community. Check us out on the Web at www.rebelalliancetheatre.org.
We look forward to meeting you!

Produced by Rebel Alliance Theatre at Omro Wedding Chaple, 205 Adams St, Omro WI

Performances: February 18-27, 2010

Performance Times: February 18-20 and 25-27. All shows begin at 7 pm (doors open at 6:30 pm)

Ticket Prices: $8.00 or $15.00

Call 920-426-8580 for reservations or more information.